Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Paris Hilton and Eco Chick Snuggle Up…..

…..on Zaproot’s latest green news you can use. I’m thinking this is as close as we will ever get to the Princess of Perpetual Palaver, but who knows what planets will align to bring us together again?

Happy Green New Year!

I get more excited about New Years Eve than I do about Christmas or my birthday combined, seriously. So I always throw a party, and my parties always singlehandedly undo every environmental effort I put forth the entire year before. Invitations, garbage, lights, tons of food… etc. So this year, I changed it! The top things I did to make it a more eco-friendly New Years Eve party:

~ internet invites; usually I’d go a little nutty and make invitations with pictures on the front from the year and the whole shibang, this year I did e-cards
~ location; I’ve always lived in the outskirts of town, so people would have to take the their cars or a taxi to get to my house – this time, we moved the party to my friend’s loft downtown so everyone could take public transit
~ good china; I don’t really own good china, but I’m allowing people to use my regular glass cups instead of busting out good old plastics, and there will be no plates
~ local eats; everything we bought food wise is from the local market, which is dwindling since it’s winter, but we still managed to get enough food to do the trick
~ group eats; we’ve opened up the party as a potluck! Everyone can bring their own, and we’ve restricted it to vegan only food.
~ lighting; we changed all of the light bulbs to CFLs… my entire house already is, and I even bought the light bulbs just for him, to encourage the switch
~ dummy proof; we have made recycling bins that can be seen from across the room, and added “yellow let it mellow” signs to the washroom doors – although we’re not sure that one will float
~ entertainment; didgeridoos, guitars, drums and organic painting! no movies or electronic music for us!

They all seem like simple efforts, but it’s going to be a green, and fun, New Year!

Happy New Years everyone!!

Eco Moms: Inspirational Green Links

As a new mother, I am always researching various topics regarding child rearing and environmentally friendly practices. Here are a few sites that I frequent or find inspirational.

Healthy Child, Healthy World
Formally the CHEC (Children’s Health Environmental Coalition,) Healthy Child, Healthy World is an organization recommended here before, and it is certainly worth another mention. Founders Nancy and James Chuda tragically lost their daughter to cancer that they believe was induced by exposure to toxins. The Chuda’s passion for protecting future generations from environmental hazards has led them to some of the most famous names in politics, entertainment, and grassroots activism. Healthy Child has inspired scientific research and legislative action. Their board is comprised of the likes of Erin Brokovich Ellis, world-renowned pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp, and Olivia Newton-John, among others. Healthy Child has a blog that provides useful information for parents who want to keep up on the latest eco-endeavours.
I love the site because there are many videos, articles, and glossaries for people wanting to educate themselves regarding current federal policy on environmental pollutants, or for those who just want to keep their home and family as healthy as possible. Also, any time I have emailed them with a question, they are always quick to respond with answers. According to Healthy Child, the U.S. EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection (the only govt. office assigned to oversee and protect the environmental health of our children) will possibly be dismantled soon. They are urging citizens to write to congressional leaders to guarantee funding for this branch: National Children’s Study

Eco Mom Alliance
I came across this site in my travels recently and it is a great motivator for mothers to empower themselves to be inspirational to their children. The Eco Mom Challenge, created by founder Kimberly Danek Pinkson, lists ten ways to start making a difference at home. Pinkson reminds us that embracing the concept of sustainability on all fronts – self, home, and planet – is what is going to implement true change in our lives. By taking care of ourselves as individuals and mothers, through communion and action, we generate positive health that permeates our lives.
Some of the tips mentioned on Eco Mom Alliance, such as “One Night Off” campaign, are great ideas to put into action. Reminiscent of Adbusters “Buy Nothing Day,” the concept of “One Night Off” originated with Australia’s “Cool The Globe” initiative, which advises choosing one night a week to turn off/unplug every energy-draining device in the house. While this saves natural resources, it inspires families to be creative with their time together.

Nature Moms
Tiffany Washko is a freelance writer and mother of three who cares about the environment. Working to minimize her family’s footprint and share her experiences with others, Tiffany maintains Nature Moms. Discussing everything from vaccinations to sippy cups on the blog, Nature Moms is a useful site to raise awareness and investigate the experiences of others on the ‘eco mom’ path. Grassroots mamas unite!

Holistic Moms Network
This is a good place to find local groups of parents who are holistically inclined. There are lots of articles on virtually every topic related to parenting. The links page on this website is a thorough and useful spot to check when looking for information relating to various topics: home-schooling, attachment parenting, vaccination safety, natural birthing, et cetera.

Enviromom
These ladies make me wish I lived in Portland so I could meet their group and hang with them at the park. For those in the Pac Northwest, there are lots of eco events happening and Enviromom keeps locals up to date. There are always interesting new ideas on the site, along with a tangible appreciation for a simpler way of life.

A few more great links: (sorry don’t have more time to elaborate on these, I’ve got twins needing to be fed!)
Nonchalantmom
Mindful Momma
Mothering Magazine Online
La Marguerite
Green as a Thistle (I don’t think Vanessa is a mom but props to fellow Canadians… speaking of which: Envirowoman is another!)
For a good reference source: BEST GREEN BLOGS

There are many more. Just check out the blogroll on any of the links above and you will find oodles of eco-minded folk out there.

Green Gossip: What Good Is It?

At US Weekly, there’s coverage of John Mayer’s involvement with the green group Reverb:

Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization started by Guster frontman Adam Gardner and his eco-conscious wife, is teaming up with both tours, and will actually travel with Mayer. Their goal is to help reduce the “footprint” of the bands themselves, as well as educate concertgoers with interactive “Eco-Villages” set up at each tour stop.

At MSN, there are reports that Trippin’ host Cameron Diaz and super-hottie enviro-hunk (and author of the Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook) are hooking up.

And at Yahoo News, Factory Girl star Sienna Miller’s involvement with Global Cool is getting the group some more (well-deserved) attention.

Aside from David de Rothschild, who is a billionaire-heir, the rest of these folks are stars using their celebrity to get attention for what they care about (or what’s trendy?). Either way, people are hearing about issues like global warming who otherwise might not pay attention. I know plenty of people say that stars using their popularity in this way is disingenuous or maybe even opportunistic behavior. But Diaz has been involved with environmental causes for years. I think as long as the person knows what they are talking about (like Leo DiCaprio always proves) they should be able to use their power for good, not evil.

Party Pooper

Biking to work on the morning of July 5^th I noticed scattered remnants of brightly colored paper. In some places boxes were piled and charred remains of something were close by. Fireworks. There was litter from exploded fireworks everywhere. The night before, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, it sounded like a warzone…not unfitting for this present moment! And it was not easy to catch some rest through that noise which raged into the night.

In Chinatown in NYC one year I attended a day of the Chinese New Year celebration and it began to rain. The water that snaked along the edges of the streets to the gutters was a kaleidoscope of color from the confetti filled explosive sticks you can buy at any small Chinese store. The confetti, once exploded (really impressive site), littered the street.

So then I thought, things that blow up for our entertainment, are they super damaging one or two or three days in a year? I looked up news reports and found that indeed, fireworks are bad for the environment. But the articles I found suggested rather than the actual visual litter or noise levels being a problem, fireworks caused other concerns for the environment: they increase ambient temperatures (where ignited), deposit perchlorate in water resources (perchlorate, yes the carcinogen, but, not to worry, the amount reduces back to background levels within 3 to 12 weeks), and compound air pollution levels (there were actual warnings for people with allergies and respiratory problems about going outside during the firework display period).

No kidding. Even fireworks, such beautiful and awe-inspiring displays, have a negative environmental impact. Good to keep in mind on our next firework-filled holiday…

Here are some news reports from around the country:

water

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/science/03obse1.html?ref=science

air

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6310145

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/jul/06/guess-what-fireworks-pollute/

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=5447560

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070704/NEWS01/707040332

heat

http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_6296507